CUMNOCK Juniors boss Stephen Swift remains hopeful has side can cause an almighty upset in the Scottish Cup this coming weekend.

That comes despite what he described as a "catastrophic" exit from the Junior version of the competition.

The 'Nock face a lengthy away journey on Saturday, September 28, as they face Highland League side Brora Rangers in the senior contest.

They head into the game after exiting the competition they won back in 2023, the Scottish Junior Cup, after losing on penalties away to North Region Premier League side Hermes.

The rollercoaster match ended 3-3 in regulation time before heading to spot kicks - with Swifts side trailing 1-0 and 2-1 before taking a 3-2 lead heading into the dying moments of the fixture.

But a last minute penalty took the tie beyond regulation time, ultimately leading to their exit at the second round stage.

“I don’t think it was a bad performance," Swift commented. "I think the boys played really well in terms of everything we asked them to do.

“They caught us on a break away and went 1-0 up, they hadn’t even touched the ball (before then).

“We got back to 1-1 and again, we were dilly-dallying in the middle of the park, not moving the ball quick enough, and they break away and score with another deflection.

“But again, credit to the boys, they completely dominated the second half and got back to 3-2, scoring some cracking goals.

“You’re thinking, let’s get out of here, we’ve played well at a tough place to go but they play a big long ball up the park and we don’t defend it well and give away a penalty.

“It’s been similar to our season, we need to defend properly in these big moments – if you don’t you’re not going to win games.”

The Townhead boss admitted that the exit was far from ideal - though he is keen not to dwell on the result for too long.

Despite being knocked out of the competition, Cumnock have not faced defeat in 90 minutes in their last four fixtures.

Swift added: “It’s a catastrophic thing to happen to our season, we wanted to go a run in the cup but we need to look at the bigger picture.

“I think we are actually in a good place in terms of how we are playing, if we can defend better then I think we will be going on a good run.”

The boss hopes that good run will commence in the Scottish Cup - despite the monumental task ahead of them.

Brora Rangers currently sit in second place in the Highland League - having lost only twice in 11 games so far this season.

A particularly strong side at home, they also have form in this competition having knocked Heart of Midlothian out of the Scottish Cup little over three years ago.

Swift commented: “It’s a big Scottish Cup game, it’s probably the hardest draw at this stage in the competition.

“We’re going up to Brora and they’re absolutely flying – I don’t think many will give us a prayer.

“But we’ve got to prepare as best we can and hopefully we can go and cause an upset.”

Although the Cumnock manager is well aware of the threat Saturday's opposition will pose - he says his side playing their own game will play a major role in their chances of success.

He continued: “We know they are very dangerous up the top end of the pitch, we know we need to keep them quiet.

“We need to still concentrate on the way we want to play as well, you want to stop them but equally we’re there to cause our own problems.

“We’ve had a bit of bad luck with injury, it’s not ideal but we just need to get on with it – we’ve got a good enough squad to deal with it.”

While the Scottish Junior Cup exit was disappointing, he hopes the experience of the trip north, and heartbreaking nature of the defeat will be an experience his players can call upon this weekend.

Swift added: “Every cup competition you are hoping the players are well up for.

“It’s difficult when you need to travel to play a very good side but it is what it is – we need to try and adapt.

“Hopefully they draw a bit of experience from the weekend and we need to try and get through.”